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Library/Product/Google Glass
Grade B21 sourcesHIS-01583

Google Glass

Product · 2013 · Niche

38Editable slideCertificate

Google’s $1,500 Explorer glasses drew privacy criticism, parodies and etiquette advice.

Clip · Google on YouTube
Photo of Google Glass by Dan Leveille
Dan Leveille ( danlev on Wikimedia) / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Key Speakers And General Views From The Google I/O 2012 Conference
TIME
A New Chapter for Glass - Google X Blog
Google X
Project Glass: One day...
Google on YouTube
First Google Glass Explorer Editions begin to arrive; here is the unboxing and first consumer video
9to5Google
Google Glass sells out within a day (Updated with quote from Google)
Digital Trends

Spread Score

How it works
ReachNo data yetContagion35Breadth60Velocity0Longevity5138

Numbers

Seed to milestone
12 months
Apr 16 ’13 to Apr 16 ’14
Platforms
5
Started on Retail
Origin
Mixed
Technology

Mechanics

  • Real-world spectacle
  • Scarcity drop
  • Visible in use
  • ControversyPrimary
  • Platform jump

How it spread

Trace the origin

Google staged demos and recruited paying Explorers. Parodies and privacy disputes spread through YouTube, Tumblr and television. Google issued etiquette advice, ended Explorer sales and later pursued enterprise uses.

Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.

Google searchesNov ’11Jun ’12OctJun ’13DecMay ’14SepOct ’15Apr ’17May ’19Aug ’21Jun ’23MilestoneOpen webRetailTVYouTubePress
Open webRetailTVYouTubePress

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. April 2012

    Google precursor · Apr 4 ’12

    Google unveiled Project Glass with a concept video and prototype images.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. June 2012

    Sergey Brin / Google precursor · Jun 27 ’12

    Brin demonstrated Glass at Google I/O with skydivers, mountain bikers and rappellers.[2]

  3. September 2012

    Google / Diane von Furstenberg precursor · Sep 9 ’12

    Google announced its collaboration with Diane von Furstenberg for Glass at New York Fashion Week.[3]

  1. seed · Apr 16 ’13

  2. press · May 2 ’13

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 5 sourced numbers and 21 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro · $13/mo
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Technology
Region
US
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

Product · Retail · 200248

Crocs

Crocs, Inc.

Crocs reported 76,000 pairs sold in its first full year, before its later fashion revival.

$1.4B on a $101M media spend

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.